As his 18th season of playing defense in the NHL begins, Minnesota Wild defenseman Zach Bogosian knows well that amid all of the wins and money, and even the Stanley Cup he earned in 2020 with the Tampa Bay Lightning, there’s a price you pay, physically and mentally.
To successfully play on the blue line, in the corners and in front of your own net at hockey’s highest level, your body is going to take a beating.
“It’s tough. It’s a physical game,” said Bogosian, who turned 35 over the summer. “But you do end up doing a lot of things that don’t show up on a score sheet or people might not notice. It’s a pretty painful position.”
In addition, NHL arenas are bright and loud and the playing surface is literally ice cold. So, it’s not surprising that away from the rink, Bogosian seeks out a place that is dimly-lit, quiet and blazing hot for his body and mind to recover.
Nearly every day, either at the Wild’s team facilities, a team hotel on the road or at his home in the Twin Cities suburbs, Bogosian carves out between 12 and 20 minutes of sauna time.
“Generally late at night, when the kids go down and I can kind of have my peace out there and do something kind of to myself,” Bogosian said. “My wife (Bianca) does it a lot with me, too. So, it’s fun to do with her. Kind of a decompression zone thing.”
With Minnesota’s strong Scandinavian culture, saunas have been a part of life here since Europeans first arrived two centuries ago. But evidence of the use of a hot room like a sauna to relax and heal the mind and body dates back more than 4,000 years, to cultures from Scotland to Finland to Japan. Bogosian discovered them not long after he was the third overall pick by the Atlanta Thrashers in the 2008 NHL Draft, when he was still just 17.
“I’ve been doing it forever. I think from my rookie year, probably, just being at the rink,” he said. “There’s always one in every rink. So, I kind of got into it when I was young. I’ve really been doing it for 17, 18 years.”
Today, Bogosian is a part of what he called the “sauna crew” in the Wild’s locker room, a group of 10 to 12 players who make the sauna a part of their daily routine, at home and on the road. Last season, those get-togethers included one of the more unique sauna experiences available in the world.
During an off day last March, with the team staying in Vancouver, then-Wild forward Freddy Gaudreau organized a sauna boat excursion for the team members who like it hot. They spent several hours of a sunny spring day on the waters of Deep Cove, north of the city, on what looked like a houseboat, but with a wood-fired sauna and big windows for views of the city and the surrounding mountains.
The boats were powered by an outboard motor and piloted by a guide familiar with the region’s many waterways.
“You jump in the water after,” Bogosian said. “You’re looking around, beautiful landscape. It was definitely the coolest sauna that I’ve ever done. We had a big group of guys, on a day off in Vancouver and yeah, it was a ton of fun. The water was freezing cold, but it’s so nice when you jump in.”
As he approaches the 1,000-game milestone, which he could hit this season, Bogosian feels that his sauna time has definitely helped with longevity in a game that can be physically taxing.
“I just feel great when I do it, so I’ve definitely noticed the health benefits of it; the body feels better,” he said. “I’m getting older, and I’ve played a long time and my body, honestly, hasn’t felt as good in a really long time. So, the last few years I’ve been probably more religious with it. And would say that has been a big, big part of it.”
“I just think it’s good to sweat every day,” he added.
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